For the better part of the Class 2A State Volleyball Championships, reality found harsh ways to mess with the Resurrection Christian volleyball team.

The Cougars coasted out to two-set leads, only to find themselves in a fight too real for comfort.

Resurrection Christian put a stop to all of that, winning the program’s first state championship 3-0 against Lutheran on Saturday at the Denver Coliseum. Reality check? Maybe when the Cougars come down off their cloud.

“It’s like a dream,” said Preston Lienemann, junior hitter. “When it happened, I said, ‘This is unreal.’ ”

The Cougars won 25-18, 25-19, 25-13.

Resurrection Christian also completed the program’s first undefeated season, losing just seven sets in a 29-0 campaign. All but two Cougars will return next season.

“I’m so excited for next year,” Lienemann said. “I can’t wait to be a senior and lead that team here again. I really can’t wait for next season. It’s gonna be unreal.”

Lutheran (25-3) is left with real pain and anguish, having stomped a path to the state title game through Lyons (17-10), C.S. School (23-4) and Fowler (26-1). That means those Lions played three of the five teams with 20 wins in 2A.

When the Lions got to the Cougars, the clawing continued. The Lions, though, were on the receiving end.

“We decided we have to make the other team uncomfortable,” Lienemann said.

After two state matches where Resurrection Christian allowed the other team too many comforts, taking Lutheran out of its comfort zone worked.

Now Resurrection Christian is out of its comfort zone, in that it’s a defending champion for the first time, with expectations as high as the clouds the players floated on after the match.

“I’m ready for those expectations,” Lienemann said.

And speaking of high hopes, the Cougars said they leaned on a higher power.

“We all wrote, ‘Audience of One,’ on our leg,” senior libero Carly Whitham said. “That showed we’re playing for God and his glory.”